It’s that season again. You know the one — the season of twinkle lights, jingle bells and soon-to-be exhausted shoppers. We’re here to help with a baker’s dozen Bay Area-centric eclectic gift ideas for your favorite foodie or fun-loving adventurer. Ho ho ho!
EAT: For the fromage fan, a cheese cave for your fridge
The Cheese Grotto Piatto with three Marin French Cheese Co. soft-ripened cheeses for $125. (Cheese Grotto)
Real turophiles know that mold on cheese can be a good thing. But stale cheese? Now that is truly wack.
You don’t have to worry about your treasured cheeses turning into waxy, chewy bricks with this piatto (cheese humidor) from local company Cheese Grotto. Built from rustic wood and clay brick, the piatto mimics the microclimate of an actual cheese cave to keep cheeses fresh – and also perfectly ripen whole wheels of brie and camembert.
The device was invented by San Franciscan Jessica Sennett, who used to work as a cheesemonger for Sonoma County’s Cowgirl Creamery before devoting her life to this doohickey. The Cheese Grotto, which slips into your fridge, reportedly stores cheeses three times longer than plastic or paper containers. It has won a World Dairy Innovation Award and heck, even Oprah loves it, putting it on her 2023 “Made in the USA” list.
For the holidays, the Cheese Grotto is getting packaged with three soft-ripened cheeses from the Marin French Cheese Co. — a petite camembert, petite truffle brie and petite garlic-pepper brie. Like Wallace & Gromit, it’ll have the cheese lover in your life tittering… “Cheeeese!”
Details: $125 for the Cheese Grotto and three cheeses at cheesegrotto.com.
EAT: For the chocolate lover, Hapa bars
Hapa Chocolat by Charlotte Kryska in Los Gatos offers single-origin chocolate bars infused with complementary flavors and truffles. (Courtesy Charlotte Kryska)
Silicon Valley chocolatier Charlotte Kryska worked for years in the local chocolate and bakery scenes — at Alexander’s Patisserie in Mountain View, then as a baker at Voyager Craft Coffee — before venturing out on her own last year to start her own chocolate business.
Her shop’s name, Hapa Chocolat, gives a nod to her identity as Hapa, someone partly of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. She hopes it captures the idea that there is a mix within any one individual – or an individual bar of chocolate.
Made in Los Gatos, Hapa’s single-origin chocolate bars incorporate a range of ingredients, from toasted almond pralines to — in the case of her new Cherry on Top bars, cherry, chile and raspberry notes. Orders should be placed by Dec. 16 for Christmas delivery.
Details: One bar for $10 or 12 truffles for $13; hapachocolat.com/products/
EAT: For your salumi sweetheart, Foustman’s Salami subscriptions, gift boxes
Lamb Rosemary. Turkey Habanero. Pork Jalapeno.
Foustman’s Old World-style artisanal salamis — naturally cured — come in 16 innovative varieties, making them perfect presents for foodie friends and party hosts, whether you give one chub, a trio, a six-pack or a salami subscription.
Building on their California families’ love of salami, Justin and Jessica Foust founded the company as the charcuterie movement was gaining steam, with headquarters in San Juan Bautista and production in a USDA kitchen in Oakland. Their bestselling San Francisco Style is made with pork shoulder, garlic and black pepper. Other varieties are infused with rosemary, wine, spicy peppers, fennel, even beer.
Besides shopping online, you can find Foustman’s at weekly farmers markets in Mountain View, Palo Alto, Saratoga, Oakridge; at Zanotto’s markets in Sunnyvale, San Jose; and at many festivals and fairs. Locations abound in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties.
Details: Variety packs start at $41.85 for three, subscriptions start at $78. https://foustmans.com/
EAT: Chocolate-covered honeycomb from Preston’s Candy
Sweet molasses honeycomb sponge enrobed in silky chocolate, sold by Preston’s Candy in Burlingame (Courtesy Alejandra Covarruvias).
Some customers at Preston’s Candy in Burlingame have been buying the shop’s housemade, chocolate-covered honeycomb for more than 55 years, says candymaker Javier Santiago.
It has always been one of the most popular items at the shop, which just celebrated its 78th anniversary. Local honey is combined with sweet molasses to create an airy, crunchy texture that looks just like honeycomb, then it’s finished with a layer of Santiago’s signature milk chocolate.
It’s a treat so good that East Bay favorite Loard’s Ice Cream uses it to make an ice cream flavor sold exclusively at Preston’s.
Details: Chocolate-covered honeycomb is $18 for 8 ounces online or at Preston’s Candy, which is open daily at 170 Broadway in Burlingame; prestonscandyshop.com.
DRINK: For the cocktail aficionado, King Floyd’s Bar Provisions
A gift box containing a variety pack of craft bitters from King Floyd’s Bar Provisions in Novato craft bitters is an excellent gift option for cocktail lovers this holiday season. (Courtesy Lawrence Batterton)
These locally made craft bitters shine in a range of cocktails – perfect for the home bartender on your shopping list. Made in Novato, these bitters use extractions based on recipes hundreds of years old. Many ingredients are organic, and some of their ingredients, like chiles and rosemary, are grown in their own garden. They offer a few different gift boxes, all of which have cocktail recipes on the back, as well as single bottles of bitters, bar snacks, cocktail kits and more.
“Everything we do is small-batch,” says owner Lawrence Batterton. Order by Dec. 18 for an on-time Christmas delivery.
Details: Gift boxes range from $40-$75; kingfloyds.com/collections
DRINK: For the coffee contingent, Nirvana Soul’s java with a purpose
Nirvana Soul offers bags of freshly roasted coffee beans at its Cupertino and San Jose locations. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Sister entrepreneurs Jeronica Macey and Be’Anka Ashaolu are on a mission to spread joy and support worthwhile causes — one cup of coffee or bag of beans at a time. Their trailblazing Black-owned business, Nirvana Soul, launched in 2020 in downtown San Jose and has since expanded to Cupertino and the MLK Library.
They procure beans from women coffee producers around the world, then roast them in San Jose. Their dark-roast Noir blend combines Colombia, Ethiopia and Guatemala beans; that’s the one used in the house cold brew. Single-origin offerings include Mexico’s Bella Vista Women’s Lot and La Familia Rodriguez, a coffee from a Guatemalan family that sponsors a free dental care day for 100 youths every year.
Another philanthropic choice is the Project Purpose, a blend of Ethiopian and Ugandan beans developed with a San Francisco 49ers player. All profits go to the T.Y. McGill Foundation and its student mentorship programs.
Details: 12-ounce bags ($20 to $24) are available at the shops (19700 Vallco Parkway, Cupertino, and 315 S. First St., San Jose) or online (freshly roasted beans ship every Friday). Merch and gift cards are available to enhance your present. www.nirvanasoulcoffee.com
DRINK: For mixology mavens, make your own tonic water with an Oaktown Spice Shop kit
John Beaver and Erica Perez are the owners of Oaktown Spice Shop photographed at their newest location in Albany, Calif., on Tuesday, May 1, 2018. The shop sells a variety of esoteric spices, exotic peppers and other essential ingredients for cooking Thai, Korean, Jamaican, Mexican and Indian fare. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)
Named one of the world’s best spice shops by Food & Wine Magazine in 2022, Oaktown Spice Shop was one of the first of its kind in the East Bay.
And while spice blends like the Moroccan Tagine can spruce up any dinner entree, the tonic water kit is a perfect way to bring unique flavors to your next gin and tonic.
The classic kit includes cinchona powder, dried lemongrass, allspice berries and cubeb pepper to be boiled for 25 minutes with fresh citrus juice and zest. Strain it twice, add citric acid and sugar, then pour it over ice.
One reviewer said they’ll never make another gin and tonic without it, while another said they added raspberries to make it an unforgettable cocktail.
Oaktown added a second version of the kit that includes elderflower, if you’re looking for some floral notes in your cocktail or mocktail.
Details: Order the classic tonic water kit ($21.50) online or in one of its three Bay Area locations; oaktownspiceshop.com.
DRINK: For whisky sippers. a gift box from 10th Street Distillery
The 2024 holiday gift box from the award-winning 10th Street Distillery of San Jose includes a single-malt whisky and two glasses. (Photo courtesy of 10th Street Distillery)
In the spirit of the season, consider a gift of spirits for the whisky lover and any wanna-learn-about-whisky fans on your list.
The 10th Street Distillery founders, Virag Saksena and Vishal Gauri, have been making award-winning, Scottish-style whiskies in an urban spot in San Jose since 2017. And that happened only after several years of experimentation and fine-tuning by these Silicon Valley engineers.
This year, the distillery has brought back a holiday gift set featuring a bottle of single-malt whisky plus two glasses. The box is priced at $105 to $170, depending on the whisky chosen.
Which to select? Saksena and Gauri recommend the California Coast Blend, “an easy-drinking, approachable blend,” for those new to the world of whisky; the STR single malt for bourbon drinkers; and the Peated single malts, made with grain imported from Scotland, for those who enjoy Scotch. The distillery’s bestseller is their first triple cask, Dragon.
Details: Walk-ins are welcome from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, with pickup only hours 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday. 442 N. Fourth St., San Jose. Check www.10thstreetdistillery.com/home for other retail availability and details on tastings, events.
DRINK: For corkheads, VinGardeValise Piccolo 5-bottle carry-on luggage
The Piccolo 5-bottle suitcase ($250) allows travelers to ensure their wine makes it safely to their destination (photo courtesy of VinGardeValise.com).
Travelers coming to or from the Bay Area know the routine well. You enjoy a delicious tasting at a wonderful vineyard, and you’re tempted by the offer to waive the tasting fee, if you purchase two bottles of wine. But what do you do with the wine, if you’re flying out the next day? Or if you’re bringing wine to family or friends across the country?
That’s where the VinGardeValise comes in. Its hard-shell case is made to withstand a game of bumper cars in the airplane’s underbelly. A deep foam insert can keep up to five bottles of wine carefully nestled in place. In short, this luggage was made for the singular purpose of getting your wine from location to location without as much as a scratch.
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CNN reviewed the product last year and called it extremely durable, lightweight enough to fill up without worrying about additional checked-bag fees, and perfect at doing its job of protecting your delicious souvenirs from damage on a long flight.
If you’re not toting wine, you can remove the foam insert and use the suitcase as, well, a suitcase. Opt for the 12-bottle sized luggage, and you can use half the space for clothes and the other half for a half-dozen bottles of wine, whiskey, olive oil or other fragile souvenirs. Or, you know, 12 bottles of wine.
Details: Find the 5-bottle carry-on luggage ($250) at VinGardeValise.com.
PLAY: For that atlas fan, gorgeous historic maps of California and the Bay Area
Local Language, a creative studio in Oakland, makes hanging wall art from historical documents like this reproduction of a relief map showing California circa 1883. (John Metcalfe/Bay Area News Group)
California has some of the grandest landscapes on the planet – both natural and urban – and a creative studio in Oakland is doing them justice with truly eye-catching wall maps.
Local Language, a collective of local artists and makers, starts by sourcing cartographic documents that can date back 150 years from Stanford University’s David Rumsey Map Collection, the U.S. Geological Survey and other venerable sources. The designers then pigment-print them on materials that will hold up and impress for years, like aluminum and maple. Some of the maps are quite large, measuring 3 by 2 feet, more than adequate to tie an entire wall together.
One map depicts the town of Brooklyn, named for a ship that brought Mormons to California, which existed from 1856-1872 near Oakland’s Lake Merritt before being annexed by the growing city. A relief map showing California in 1883 was included in the first mass-produced world atlas, Cram’s Unrivaled Family Atlas of the World, and is full of fun historic railroads and place names. There’s a vintage 1873 map of San Francisco that originally sold for 25 cents, a topographical map of the state’s mountain ranges that’s gold-leafed by hand, a reproduction of a vintage woodcut of the Yosemite Valley. You get the idea: Great gifts for history lovers and design aficionados alike.
Details: Maps range from $395-$650 (for topographical) and are available at 477 25th St., Oakland and online at locallanguageart.com.
PLAY: For kids ages 8 to 100, a jigsaw puzzle to support the zoo
A jigsaw puzzle that financially supports the Oakland Zoo is now available from the Oakland Puzzle Company. (Oakland Zoo)
Lovers of local art and local animal conservation should relish this animal-filled jigsaw puzzle about the Oakland Zoo’s California Trail.
The trail, which opened in 2018, doubled the zoo’s footprint to 100 acres and established new viewing opportunities for California native species like gray wolves, grizzly bears, jaguars and California condors. Of course, due to over-hunting the only place you’re going to see grizzlies anymore in this state is in artificial environments – thus the importance of the zoo’s conservation efforts, which include raising young American bison to release into a growing colony in Montana.
The 500-piece puzzle depicts animals and plants you’ll encounter while wandering the trail. It was designed by Brian Clarke, aka Les Toil, a Berkeley artist with a keen retro style inspired by old paperback book covers and movie posters. The 16- by 20-inch puzzle is manufactured by the Oakland Puzzle Company, a mission-driven organization working out of a small local factory. Bonus: 10 percent of sales from this puzzle go to support the Oakland Zoo.
Details: Find the 500-piece puzzle ($33) using the zoo’s affiliate link at https://oaklandpuzzle.com/products/california-trail?ref=OAKLANDZOO.
PLAY: For the showgoing fan: A DoTheBay subscription
We all know the Bay Area is a hot spot for arts, music and comedy. But how to take advantage of all those events when, as they say, the rent is too damn high? That’s where a DoTheBay subscription can help.
For $7 a month, the program offers subscribers a pair of tickets each month – and sometimes more – to a concert, comedy show or cultural event. Typically, tickets are released in batches, and subscribers choose one of up to seven events. In the last few months, those tickets have included events like the San Jose Opera (with excellent seats), a Santa Cruz concert and San Jose comedy shows.
Details: $7 per month; https://dostuffmedia.com/domore.
PLAY: Make sourdough bread or pizza at The Mill
Oakland’s Josey Baker was a science teacher when he fell in love with baking. He turned to breadmaking full time and eventually opened The Mill in San Francisco in 2010. Within just a few years, The Mill was thriving, Baker had published an entry-level cookbook, “Josey Baker Bread,” and amassed more than 57,000 followers on Instagram.
His bread is now sold across the Bay Area. But if you want to learn to bake your own, Baker can help. He’s taught classes all over the world — including at The Mill, where he teaches bakers the ins and outs of making the whole grain sourdough that made him famous.
The two-hour class provides the how-tos on keeping a sourdough starter healthy and active and making and shaping whole grain sourdough bread — and how to turn your home appliance into a professional bread oven. He does a sourdough pizza class, too.
Details: Sourdough classes ($125) are taught from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. several days a week at The Mill, 736 Divisadero St., San Francisco; joseybakerbread.com.